Media access and Nebraska Football

Is there a quote by Pelini saying that he will not make any changes to the staff or is this writer just manipulating a message? I do see a quote about making tweaks.

 
What is he supposed to say?

Reporter: "Hey Bo, are you considering any staff changes in the offseason?"

Bo: "Yeah, I hope the door hits Tim Beck in the a$$ on the way out. And Els, he's gonna be homeless after the bowl game. And Barney, I just realized that he's dead weight on the staff, so f*%# that guy. Those 3 guys are gonna have to hitch hike their way back home after the bowl game, because we're not letting them on the plane."

What I'm trying to say is wait and see. It would be stupid for Bo to say anything else right now. If he really does end up keeping his staff intact - well, I would be disappointed just like anybody else in the fanbase. Changes need to be made, but I wouldn't rule anything out right now.

 
Creighton Duke said:
Smart move on his part. Give the AD/president more and more reasons to fire him so he can collect his buyout.
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I was thinking the same thing
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But we will hear of no changes until after signing day if we have any at all

 
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Rock solid wisdom from the minister who performed my marriage ceremony 23 years ago: "If you are doing everything you need to do and should do, you won't have ANY time OR energy to worry about how someone else is doing what they are supposed to do."

So if Bo starts coaching punt returns and blocks, that will leave even less than zero time and energy to try to oversee the press.

Besides, the best way to control what Shatel says in the paper is to have him write about convincing wins instead of stinging defeats.
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aside from this turning into a "see you later, Bo" thread instead of what the article said. Here's a quote,

"There were times when (media) took things maybe out of context, and people started making assumptions based on what somebody said," said Pelini, declining to cite specific examples.

The media and these boards wreaked havoc on this program this past season. What would you expect him to do? He didn't say he was absolutely going to do this. He put it out there as a test. To see what and or gauge the public and medias reaction. It obviously hit a nerve.

 
Well the media brought this upon themselves with the way they caused all the unwanted rumor/speculation uproar all season.

 
To play Devil's advocate a little bit, Pelini may not have any plans to make staff changes right now because they still have the bowl game. It's possible off season changes could still be made. The way he said it makes it sound like this staff will be intact come 2014 season, though.

I understand Pelini's reasoning and thought process behind this media business, and for whatever my opinion accounts for, I disagree with him. He's barking up the wrong tree, addressing problems that are relatively insignificant. He gets blasted, the team gets blasted and controversy swirls because his program is slightly above average at best. The blow out losses, the unexplained lapses in focus, the audio leak, the sideline behavior and questionable coaching decisions from the entire staff have created problems with the media. That's the crux of everything.

Winning cures everything. If he wants to limit media access and, in turn, upset the fan base, that's his prerogative. But, to me, doing this would be like plugging a small crack in a dam when a much larger crack exists elsewhere.

 
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huskerjock said:
Well the media brought this upon themselves with the way they caused all the unwanted rumor/speculation uproar all season.
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And this is completely unfair. The media is an extension of the fan base. While I'm certainly not suggesting some members of the media haven't embellished issues at times (because they definitely have), look at this message board after a loss and before the stories are written. Almost everything those reporters talk about are spouted off by fans long before you reach for the morning paper or turn on the nightly newscast.

 
NUpolo8 said:
http://journalstar.c...de4c8753f4.html

--I find this interesting on several levels. Bo Pelini is considering shutting out media access to his assistants, perhaps "permanently" (permanent in college football obviously is a loose term)

The article claims the assistant coaches at Nebraska have been available to the media since the 80's. I can't claim that, I can only go on what I remember. But I sure remember from the 90's on they were. And I also remember how a ton of people wrecked shop when Callahan started closing things off. So I can see the trepidation that the media in Nebraska would have by all of a sudden having very limited access to the most reported on topic in the state.

Of course Bo has had a bit of a year with the media. Getting caught on a hot mic and then getting it sent to Deadspin obviously would make anyone a little extra careful. And of course Bo, like other coaches (many other coaches) understand the importance of controlling the message, and are pretty obsessed with it.

You can point directly to Nick Saban in that respect. And I'm sure many will. You can also point to Lane Kiffin, who famously held self ran press conferences before getting taken out behind the airport terminal and put out of his misery. And I'm sure many will.

But the two thing is take away from this article are this. One of the last lines is saying Bo "has no plans to make any changes in his staff." That's absolutely stunning. And it has to anger the majority of this board at minimum, and probably the entire base. Two, the fact that Bo hasn't seen that he doesn't need to build walls around this program, and that it's the one thing that has probably hurt his image the most, it shows he's either unable to learn and adapt from his errors, or that he truly doesn't think he has made any errors.

And that's frightening.
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Maybe he wants to start the Boviet Union



 
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NUpolo8 said:
One of the last lines is saying Bo "has no plans to make any changes in his staff." That's absolutely stunning. And it has to anger the majority of this board at minimum, and probably the entire base
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It does not anger the entire fan base. There is someone we all know very well who has given input to Pelini regarding staff continuity. We are all familiar with his initials.

 
I don't think staff changes are necessary. But a rethink in how some things are done should definitely be on the forefront of their minds. So that takes care of item #1.

Item #2 is a frustrating, no doubt. I don't know how much it would help things if Bo realized that he doesn't need to build a wall around his program, especially if we keep piling up the same results on the field. And you can point to Tim Miles, but that's vastly different. The expectations aren't there for the basketball program. Tim can go out on have his team lose by a lot, and you won't get scathing articles from the media. And I can about guarantee that he doesn't get those scathing articles because he's nice and friendly.

I'm betting Bo would be more friendly with the media and everyone else and vice versa when we win and put together a solid string of results.

Winning does take care of everything.

 
"There were times when (media) took things maybe out of context, and people started making assumptions based on what somebody said," said Pelini.
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This is the reason for potential changes to media access. By the way, media has been given full access to Gator Bowl practices and workouts. Watch and make your own observations.

Pelini, by the way, makes it clear he believes in his staff. He likes its chemistry. He plans no changes in coaching personnel.
"You're always looking for ways to get better," he said. "If you ever did tweak anything for any reason, it's just to look for ways to make you better."
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I would like a quote or video of Pelini saying he has no plans to make changes to coaching personnel. Otherwise, this conclusion made by the writer (media) is quite fitting for the article and Pelini's reservations.
... or we could just compare him to Kiffen.
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Many to most football programs do not have regular media access to assistants. It has been common here for a long time, but it is far from common across college or NFL football. And quite honestly, a huge portion of the fan base would never know the difference.

The no changes to the staff part is something I fully expected to hear and said so in a thread a couple of weeks back. He's as loyal to his guys as Callahan was to his. The guys who have left under Pelini have not been 'his' guys (Watson, WR coach who's name escapes me) had issues (Sanders, Carl, kind of) or took a higher job position (Eckler, Carl). Maybe he shuffles some responsibilities around, (I expect Els to lose the recruiting coordinator title, as they should be hiring a dedicated position) but other than that, expect a rerun of this year next. Lose 3 or 4 in the regular season, see the atmosphere become toxic by late October, watch the B1G title game from the couch, and head to a mid level Florida Bowl.

 
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